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As the UK boards are very quiet, thought I'd share this across the pond. cheers.
Buying a Panamera was always a pipe dream as they were way beyond my budget, but the early ones finally depreciated into my range. So 6 months ago, I pulled the trigger on a Panamera 4S 2010 at £30k. Given the car cost around £100k new this was an incredible amount of car for the money (mine had £13k of options!), with around 40k miles on the clock. The car styling clearly splits opinion, and from the side it does look rather ungainly, but it's grown on me and the front and rear views are always a pleasure. Maybe it's because I know I'll not be able to afford one any time soon, but I sort of prefer it to the newer shape - which whilst in better proportion, isn't perhaps as distinctive. You don't tend to see that many around and as a car enthusiast, it's always nice being in something distinctive, which with a private plate and a polish looks very new to most eyes. Moving over from a Mercedes CLS the Panamera felt rough at lower speeds particularly in the cold, and still can, especially if you try a smoother car again. But the point of this car is that it can also do a turn as a sports car, which the 'luxury' cruisers can't match. At the touch of the 'sports plus' button it really is turned into another car. The suspension lowers and the throttle map goes insane, with the engine suddenly transformed from being powerful but docile, into a batst tiger straining to unleash itself at the slightest prod. It puts a smile on your face and you will whoop for joy when launching it from stationary, along with your passengers! This is the genius of the Panamera, that it can do both, and also carry 4 people in great comfort with a decent amount of room. I recently put a roof rack on it with the obligatory roof box for the summer hols, and it coped admirably. That of course, was until it broke down- which is where the charm of the car can run thin. It is a high performance car with lots of whistles and bells (the air suspension had previously needed some attention), and it threw an ignition coil whilst overseas which I was less then amused by. Thankfully as I have the Porsche warranty and recovery, I was in a BMW 5 Series within a few hours, and the car was off to the nearest main dealer to be fixed, all at no cost. It was interesting to have a few days in the BMW. It was a truly impressive car, the cabin tech was a generation ahead, it drove incredibly well, was economic - you couldn't really fault it. BUT, it lacked soul, and I never retuned to the car park and admired the looks of it, or received admiring glances from fellow car enthusiasts. And there for me lies the crux of the matter. The Panamera is a heart over head car for me. I can drive a 4.8 V8, which on a long run will do 30.1 mpg and can carry my family in comfort, but also do things through corners which defy gravity. It will drift almost silently through traffic, but let out a gorgeous howl on the open road.
I still always glance back at it when I leave it, and so for now the love affair continues...
Tomo72, very eloquently spoken and very timely for me to read. I am headed to the dealer right now to pick up my 2018 Panamera 4 E hybrid. It has been 7 months since I ordered it and the excitement level is high. With what I just read, I am sure to not be disappointed. Thanks. Pana TJ
Yes the Pan is a great car. Looks are very personal. Some love, some hate. I like the 1st gen look because the 2nd gen made the car look more like a mediocre vehicle, removing flaring pieces, etc.
Similar experience here with a 970 S model that I've owned for almost 4 months. And I've logged 4K miles so far - the majority on road trips. Fantastic long haul car. And way more fun to drive on a back country road than I expected. I was hoping to match the handling and feedback of the E39 M5 this replaces and frankly the pano blows that car away in every dimension.
I had a strange ac issue that was blamed on low battery voltage. Since then I've been using a battery tender to top off the battery 1-2 times a week since it's not driven daily. And also using recirc mode for ac. So far the problem hasn't returned and the car has been nothing but a joy to drive.
Mine is also CPO and had 24K miles when I bought it and I paid less than 50pct of sticker price. Not bad for a 5 year old Porsche supercar with such low miles and a factory warranty!
Didn't compare with the F10 550i Msport I almost bought - Although to be fair that would have been 20pct less money. Still - well spent for how good this car is and pretty amazing it was only slightly more than double what I got for my 15 year old M5 with over 100K Miles on it!
Thanks for various replies, much appreciated. On the UK board you just get a grunt or someone telling me its an ugly car!
Very envious of the new 2018 pickup! hope you love it, I know you will - the interior really looks an amazing place to be.
re the Porsche Warranty, in the UK you can submit the car to a dealer who does a 111 point check (which they charge you for of course) but once they have given the car a clean bill of health, you can buy a 1-2 year Porsche warranty which I think is a great service. It's not cheap, but to be able to get a privately purchased Porsche onto their warranty scheme is great, and wonderful for peace of mind. They allow you to do this until the car is 15 yrs old which is pretty impressive in my view.
I love mine so far. Its not really faster exactly than the RS7 was, but its more comfortable to drive fast and certainly handles heads above the AUDI.
I don't think the tech, even in my 2012 feels outdated at all to be honest. Being such an expensive car to begin with, and like the other German brands, they generally pioneer the infortainment and driving technology of the auto industry, which means that 2018 cars are getting what the Panamera had in 2012.
I have adaptive cruise, lane assist backup cameras. I have 360 sensors, great looking touch screens and everything I need to know about the car available in a digital format in my choice of places. The Porsche PCM is not the most user friend and has a learning curve, but its highly customizable - that speaks to me. Being a 2012 model, it doesn't have the full LED dash and gauges, and the screens themselves aren't as high of resolution as a late model car. However, the Panamera pretty much was the pinnacle of technology when the Gen 1 came out at the time, which means it has this perfect blend of some old school analog gauges and LED screens. I like it. I like the small circular dash screen that is customizable, and I like the dash integrated center screen that isn't obnoxiously huge. I also like that the center screen isn't a stupid looking IPAD think sticking out of the dash and in the way of your vision, or a motorized pop out thing that equally gets in the way, and makes you have to way for it to "boot up" before you can use it. I really really hate the late model "hey lets put an ipad on the dash" trend right now. I don't think it looks or functions outdated at all. It still feels like a car you can connect to, rather than some silicone valley wet dream from minority report. (Truth be told I do like the new panamera, and I do like full LED gauges when done right, I just don't necessarily thing its always better...).
The interior is fantastically built and just feels great. I like the airplane looking buttons and layout. I like being surrounded by the car. Its as much a cocoon as any high end car. Every car has a few rattles, but there is zero wind noise and very little road/tire noise considering I riding on performance tires that are as wide as an exotic supercar. It doesn't have the leather jacket, saddle leather, fine stitching of a $300,000 Ferrari, but you can actually USE the Panmera, every day, all year, in all weather, and not **** a brick if you spill a little coffee somewhere. I mean, yes my heart still stops a bit, and I tell people no food in the car....but...
I've never understood the hate for the looks either. I feel like people just look at perfectly flat side view sterile pictures which is the worst way to view any car really. Its unique and different and people just like to hate. There isn't a flat line or body panel on the car anywhere. Its sleek, the rear tapers out perfectly to the wide and low rear sections. I mean in person its just a beautiful and unique looking car. Much of it you can't really capture in a photograph. Of course I drove a CTSV coupe for 3 years, a dodge magnum for 4, and an RS7 for just under a year - CLEARLY I like a little junk in the trunk so maybe I'm bias. They are a deceptively large car, and look 20x better in person than they do in photographs. I think they all should only come with Turbo II wheels and maybe the spyders and that's it. They should have all got the larger iron man like folding spoiler, and perhaps then the turbo model just a bit larger version.
With all of the active handling options (which are just a must) the car just sticks to the road. The air ride and PDCC, PASM, PTV combo feels like a refined and better version of the magnetic ride in my CTSV coupe which I loved.
There is something special about the Panamera, and it might just be because some people just don't get it, and that makes it that much more unique.
These cars don't photograph so well. But they look stunning in person. iMo
I drove a 2016 A6 yesterday. Very impressive car for the price point. But I know what you mean about the screen. It's like they zip tied an iPad on the dash. And it doesn't even have touch screen. Even my new Chevys have that !!
08-31-2018, 04:32 AM
Reflections on 6 months with Gen 1 Panamera
t tiger straining to unleash itself at the slightest prod. It puts a smile on your face and you will whoop for joy when launching it from stationary, along with your passengers! This is the genius of the Panamera, that it can do both, and also carry 4 people in great comfort with a decent amount of room. I recently put a roof rack on it with the obligatory roof box for the summer hols, and it coped admirably. That of course, was until it broke down- which is where the charm of the car can run thin. It is a high performance car with lots of whistles and bells (the air suspension had previously needed some attention), and it threw an ignition coil whilst overseas which I was less then amused by. Thankfully as I have the Porsche warranty and recovery, I was in a BMW 5 Series within a few hours, and the car was off to the nearest main dealer to be fixed, all at no cost. It was interesting to have a few days in the BMW. It was a truly impressive car, the cabin tech was a generation ahead, it drove incredibly well, was economic - you couldn't really fault it. BUT, it lacked soul, and I never retuned to the car park and admired the looks of it, or received admiring glances from fellow car enthusiasts. And there for me lies the crux of the matter. The Panamera is a heart over head car for me. I can drive a 4.8 V8, which on a long run will do 30.1 mpg and can carry my family in comfort, but also do things through corners which defy gravity. It will drift almost silently through traffic, but let out a gorgeous howl on the open road.
